Thursday, July 23, 2009

Ouchers

I Knee'd To Sit For A Bit

I just got back from my knee doctor. I had over a dozen injections in each knee. This was the PRP therapy and prolotherapy to tighten my ligaments. All I can say at the moment is "ouch." My knees are pretty sore. But the results will be great as they usually are.

Trouble is, the insurance company is no longer paying for treatment. They have decided, across the board, that such therapy is "experimental" and no longer covered. It is costly, but far less so than knee replacement surgery and follow up physical therapy. To say nothing of the very long recovery period such surgery would require.

So, like so many Americans, I am caught in the medical insurance nightmare President Obama is trying to fix. I am not at all sure any of the proposals he has made or that Congress has made will actually fix my problem, but you never know.

Why is it the right of some insurance adjuster to decide what medical care actually works for me? Why does an uninterested third party have the right to step between me and my doctor in making decisions about my health?

I know national health insurance programs in other countries have both successes and failures. What the US needs to do it study both and come up with a plan that makes for a better plan.

For now, I have the money...sort of...to pay for my alternative and very effective therapy. Hopefully, the insurance companies will eventually see the light and change their attitude about paying.

6 comments:

It sounds like a horrible treatment but if it works that's great. If Obama can really find an effective solution to all the heath insurance issues it will be bigger than the moon-landing. Here's hoping.

Hope the knees feel better shortly. The idea of injections in my knees makes me feel like I want to throw up - you're brave for sure. I, too, hope for health insurance system improvement - I have private, non-group insurance and it's prohibitively expensive, although not as expensive as what they charge people without any insurance who have to go to the emergency room for the only medical care they get.

We too are experiencing the shortfalls of the US insurance system. Our older son does not have a job where insurance is offered (!). We are not able to include him on our insurance as we are not even in the country and not sure we could even if we were because he is 24. Luckily our younger son has health insurance through college.

O my god, Jean, I hope you will feel better after all that. You are very brave to undergo such a procedure. And yes, I agree, our health care system is an abomination. I don't know what the exact answer is, but it's certainly not what we've been doing. Health care should not be tied to being lucky enough to have the right job.

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About Me

I have been riding for more than 50 years and owned horses since 1971.
I am a retired High School English teacher and a political/environmental activist.
I write fantasy stories/novels and am a soprano choir member and soloist. I have also authored a few songs that have been published and performed.